DISQUS

RainbowPhoenix · 10 months ago

You just know the right will try to pin this on Obama somehow.

CDS · 10 months ago

Not Obama. Fannie Mae and Freddie.....that's where it started, and the blame falls on those that did not control them.

RainbowPhoenix · 10 months ago

We all know where the blame really falls, but when has that ever stopped the right?

CDS · 10 months ago

You might want to look at the records of Dodd and Franks.

CDS · 10 months ago

I forgot Schumer

RainbowPhoenix · 10 months ago

You're missing my point completely. We all know who's really responsible for it, but because it happened on Obama's first day, they'll try to play it as his fault. Just like they try to play everything as the fault of the left.

CDS2 · 10 months ago

No way....even the furthest rightie will not charge Obama with the crash, but they will put the blame where it belongs, and that is right in the laps of the Democrats that forced banks to lend money to folks that had no business borrowing money.

RainbowPhoenix · 10 months ago

Just wait.

beware of the leopard · 10 months ago

Um, dude, the problem is the fact that many people received loans--some fraudulent--from non-partners in CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) and then those loans were sold over and over and over and...oh, well, I'm sure you get the point. Moreover, while those bundled loans (CDO's, et al) were sold repeatedly, more "value" (really, ghost value) was added each time they passed through the turnstiles, compounding the problem of what happens when someone actually peaks under the tent to find out how the trick works. Or rather, in this case, didn't. Work, that is. And that, boys and germs, is a shorthand version of how we got into this mess. Poor oversight and lax enforcement by both parties, more so by the R's, are also a large contributing factor.

CDS2 · 10 months ago

Yours is the long version. Mine is the short. Look at Dodd, Franks and Schumer for the major causes of this mess.

Older_Wiser · 10 months ago

What else could we expect in an over-hyped, over-valued house of cards? All those "profits" were on paper, with nothing to back them up, while capital wound up in the hands of overpaid CEOs and other executives, who continue to pay themselves way above what they themselves are worth.

Bank of America will be next to fail...stock has fallen 85%, down to $5.10/share, in failure territory. Even replacing Ken Lewis, who bought 2 failures last year, Countryside and Merrill Lynch, won't help it, even with billions coming from the govt. No one in the financial sector has seen fit to show anything but whining and irresponsibility at the last minute before imminent collapse and then running to the Treasury to try to boost them to their former "glory."

I'm thrilled that we have an adult in charge of the govt now, but he cannot perform miracles in this economy. He knows he has to act fast, but without the cooperation of the moneygrubbers, anything he does won't be nearly enough, fast enough. Only nationalization of the banks, with proper regulation of unregulated "products" both now and in the future, will help this economy. At some point, when bankers and corporations start to show some maturity, banks could be returned.

Obama wasn't just talking about ordinary people when he called for responsibility and sacrifice; many of us have practiced that for years. I think it was a clear message to Wall St. and the greedy rich as well.

Indigo · 10 months ago

I don't hope to see more bank failures, although it could happen. I hope to see the market stabilize reasonably soon although that might not happen.

Meanwhile, I'm still convinced that what we're witnessing is in fact a profound correction, returning the market to its authentic value after nearly a decade in a Ponzi Market.

We've heard of Ponzi Schemes? This has been a Ponzi Market. There was no value in the high numbers. Nothing was earned! Therefore, I humbly suggest, nothing has been lost!

Wisconsin Liberal · 10 months ago

No the money that the banks took from the government bailout fund was lost. We now owe China for that and we got NOTHING for it. We the American taxpayers lost BIGTIME.

Indigo · 10 months ago

It's start-over time in America.

jaja · 10 months ago

wall street helped make greed an American value-they placed greed above innovation and civic responsibility and then tried to frantically reward itself for that with the 'golden parachutes' and scarfing down bailout payoffs when they feared the new president might not be a'friendly.' they gorged on the taxpayer dollar then blamed us for letting them do it.

gbear · 10 months ago

"and the last thing that banks need is even more trouble with outstanding loans"

It doesn't help that the banks are causing some of the trouble for small businesses by calling in loans on companies that have a perfect payment record. The banks are in full panic mode and don't give a damn about the consequences of their actions. They're just trying to stuff their own pockets on the way down.

"Banks Foreclose on Builders With Perfect Records"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/business/econ...

shak el · 10 months ago

Labor is the source of all wealth.
When you cut your labor force you save wages in the short run, but in the long run you cut future income (and this future income is more than the wages you have cut)

Cynicor · 10 months ago

I have offered this bet to all my friends, and no one has taken me up on it yet. It's very simple. I will bet $10 that the stock market under Obama will outperform the stock market during the Bush administration. I can't understand why my conservative friends haven't jumped at the easy money, if Obama is so bad for the market,